Carpet securement strip and method of use thereof

ABSTRACT

A carpet securement strip comprising a substrate ( 14 ) having gripper pins ( 13 ) and a projection component ( 12 ) of a touch and close system for securing a fibrous backing ( 18 ) of a carpet ( 26 ) to the substrate ( 14 ) at a height suitable for underlay ( 24 ) to lie between the carpet ( 26 ) and the floor ( 22 ) and a method of using such a strip for fitting a carpet ( 26 ) to a floor ( 22 ).  
     A method of fitting a carpet ( 26 ) to floors, e.g. stairs, one step ( 50 ) at a time, using the carpet securement strips The gripper pins  13  prevent early engagement of the fibrous backing ( 18 ) of the carpet ( 26 ) with the projection component ( 12 ) of the carpet securement strip.

[0001] The present invention relates to fitting carpets, and in particular a carpet securement strip and method of use thereof.

[0002] Tufted carpets are generally produced by stitching rows of loops of pile material into a woven primary backing, usually of polypropylene tape, and then cutting the loop to form two tufts stitched into the primary backing. The tufts so formed are locked into position using a coating of latex on the base side.

[0003] Such carpets, and also other types of carpet, can be finished by way of example in one of two manners. A first manner requires a secondary backing of an open weave of jute or synthetic substitute to be adhered to the back of the carpet. This improves dimensional stability, durability and appearance of the carpet. Such secondary backed carpets are usually fitted over a separate underlay consisting of felt, latex foam, bonded tire or polyurethane crumb or rubber sponge. This underlay provides cushioning and thereby gives greatly enhanced comfort underfoot, improved wear and appearance retention.

[0004] Alternatively, in place of the open weave secondary backing, a needle-felted polypropylene secondary backing, for example, may be used. Carpets constructed in this second manner will herein be termed felt secondary backed carpets. The term felt is not to be limited to animal felt. In this application it includes all loosely constructed layers of synthetic or natural fibres made by entangling or matting a fibre batt achieved by needling, with or without a woven, non woven or film scrim, or by any alternative process. Conventionally constructed open weave secondary backed carpets are generally laid over an underlay using the stretch fitting method as well known in the art. With this procedure, wooden strips, provided with a plurality of protruding pins, are fitted around the periphery of a room by nailing and/or adhering them to the floor. These wooden strips are known as ‘gripper’. The underlay is fitted over the whole floor, up to the gripper and the carpet is then laid on top of this. By impaling the carpet edge onto the protruding pins, that edge of the carpet is secured over the flat arrangement provided by the combined gripper and underlay. The carpet is then stretched away from this secured edge using, for example, a knee kicker, so that the opposite edge of the carpet can be secured on the gripper at the other side of the room. The whole procedure is described in detail in ‘The Carpet Installation Manual’ published by RBI (Europe) Ltd, MCF Complex, New Road, Kidderminster, Worcs. The technique has been used for very many years and gives a neat finish around the room periphery whilst holding the carpet flat and stable.

[0005] Unfortunately, carpet provided with felt secondary backing is not always gripped sufficiently tightly by grippers since the felt secondary backing is often thicker than other types of backing, and therefore it prevents adequate penetration of the pins of normal length. Longer pin gripper is also unsatisfactory because the resilience of the felt forces the carpet away from the pins when the compression applied during fitting is released, thus resulting in unreliable fixture.

[0006] A method of fitting felt secondary backed carpets has therefore been developed in the trade which requires the use of the projection, tine or stem component of ‘touch and close’ fastener system tapes (e.g. VELCRO™), of a variety of types as described in, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,454,183, U.S. Pat. No. 4,894,060 or U.S. Pat. No. 4,290,174 (henceforth referred to as “a projection component of a touch and close system”) according to the receptor felt layer of the carpet, which tape is adhered directly onto the floor in place of the gripper. It will be appreciated that this method can equally be applied to carpets not having felt backs, but having instead fibrous constructions capable of providing a multiplicity of loops, or structures achieving the same effect, as described, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,761,318.

[0007] The cushioning provided by a felt or fibrous backed secondary carpet is inferior to that which may be provided by a reasonable quality separate underlay. Use of additional and separate underlay has therefore been found to be necessary in order to provide the degree of underfoot carpet comfort demanded by consumers, in particular since without an additional underlay, the felt quickly flattens and becomes ‘boardy’, giving rapid deterioration of the appearance of the pile layer.

[0008] Early attempts to fit carpets using touch and close material, with an underlay, involved a touch and close tape comprising a thick, yet flexible backing, e.g. so that it can be coiled. Such tape could not reliably be nailed to the floor due to its flexibility; it tends to lift between the nails. Therefore it was attached to the floor using an adhesive. However, inevitably dust is present when laying carpets. This can cause the adhesive bond to be less effective, and the bond between the floor or the tape can fail. Also the flexible backing could, over time, become compressed, resulting in a channel against the wall that will not be cleaned by a conventional vacuum cleaner.

[0009] Further, these early attempts used loop-backed carpets. Due to the ease with which the touch and close material attaches to such a backing, release cover tape was fitted to the touch and close tape to prevent attachment until the release cover tape was removed. With release cover tape, it is not possible to tension or stretch the carpet in the conventional manner since there is no temporary hold provided by a covered tape. Only by trimming the carpet before stretch fitting the carpet can a high quality appearance be achieved.

[0010] It is also noted that in these early attempts to fit carpets with an underlay, no gap, or gully, between the wall and the tape was provided. This is since there was no carpet stretching to be done (which resulted in an oversize carpet that was to be tucked into the gap). Without tucking, a high quality appearance is not generally achieved. Further, tucking allows fast inaccurate trimming by an unskilled fitter to achieve perfect results because the cut edge is not visible. If a gap is provided with the prior art tape, tucking would still not be effective since the tape is flexible, and would not provide a firm backing for the tucked edge.

[0011] It is therefore an aim of the present invention to provide a means for fitting a carpet that has the feel of a carpet fitted over underlay, whilst still using felt secondary backed carpets. It is also an aim of the present invention to provide means for achieving this using conventional fitting techniques. Such fitting techniques achieve a very high quality appearance to a fitted carpet, even when fitted by an unskilled fitter.

[0012] Yet a further problem with the prior art carpet securement strips, in particular the carpet securement strips fitted with Velcro type material, is encountered in particular when securing carpet to stairs. The problem is that carpet, when being pushed into the stairs, engages the Velcro type material too early thereby hindering subsequent movement or positioning of the carpet. This can prevent the carpet from being fitted neatly, i.e. with a professional finish. It is therefore a further object of the present invention to provide a carpet securement strip that facilitates the fitting of carpets, for example with underlays, to stairs. Using the present invention, it is possible to provide a high quality appearance for the carpet.

[0013] According to a first aspect of the present invention there is provided a carpet securement strip comprising an elongate substrate having a first planar surface for contact with the floor and a second planar surface substantially parallel to the first surface, which second surface carries gripper pins and a projection component of a touch and close system. Preferably, the substrate has a thickness suitable for securing carpet with an underlay between the carpet and the floor.

[0014] The touch and close material may be provided with strips of different densities extending along the length of the carpet securement strip. The projection density of the touch and close material could also be graduated across the width of the material.

[0015] A first portion of the projection component preferably has a projection density of less than a second strip. The first strip preferably extends over between 50 and 75% of the width of the material. The first strip preferably has a projection density of more than 80 projections per cm in the case of mushroom fasteners with felt backed carpets. The second portion of the projection component preferably has a projection density of less than 70 projections per cm².

[0016] The lowest density strip is advantageously adjacent to an edge of the securement strip for facilitating lifting of carpet from that edge for adjustment or replacement of the carpet.

[0017] The substrate may have a generally rectangular or trapezium shaped section. The substrate is preferably formed from a stiff material, such as wood, metal, plastics, fibreglass, or composites thereof. It may be profiled. For example, whereas a wooden substrate such as the prior art gripper has always been solid to support gripper pins, the substrate of the present invention could be formed of a plastics or metal substrate, extruded, cast or molded with a substantially hollow section with gripper pin supporting portions provided therealong; plastics and metal can be stiffer and stronger than wood, and is therefore able to support nails and gripper pins, despite being substantially hollow. Further, the non-solid section provides material economy.

[0018] The substrate may be provided with external grooves in its bottom or first planar surface for enabling an increased bond strength with an adhesive for application of the carpet securement strip to ceramic or concrete flooring, for example.

[0019] A chamfered edge may be provided on the strip, the upper corner, or acute edge of which may be rounded. The chamfered edge can facilitate tucking the edge of the carpet between the skirting board and the substrate. The rounded edge will both ease fitting of the carpet, and reduce the wear on the carpet when fitting or fitted compared to that which would be encountered with a sharper edge.

[0020] Wooden gripper as known in the art is less susceptible to the formation of specific profiling since the wood will tend to flake along the grain lines. However, plywood will tolerate a chamfered edge and gripper pins can easily be driven through the wood from the first surface of the substrate after applying the projection component of a touch and close system to the second surface of the substrate. Further, wood, especially plywood, is cheap, widely available and sustainable. Also, the wide use of a wooden substrate on conventional gripper rods makes the use of wood familiar with carpet fitters.

[0021] The substrate may also be provided with other sections for other applications such as under doors or at carpet edges. For example, an edge strip could be provided in a generally “C” section, the foot portion being longer than the arm portion and the “C” section defining an open channel for receiving a carpet edge. The gripper pins and the close and loop material would be provided on the channel facing surface of the foot portion. A door strip could be provided in a generally “I” section. The two feet portions would be longer than the two arm portions with the “I” section defining two open channels each for receiving a carpet edge. The gripper pins and the close and loop material would be provided on the channel facing surface of each of the foot portions. An edge strip provides a neat edge to a carpet where it meet a polished wood floor covering, for example, and a door strip provides a secure and trip-free joint between two pieces of carpet in a doorway.

[0022] The projection component of the touch and close system may be laminated onto the substrate by adhesion or otherwise, but may be moulded into it integrally by the injection, extrusion, embossing or similar processes as described for the production of relatively thin flexible tapes acting as the hook fastener components as described, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,777,310 and U.S. Pat. No. 4,894,060.

[0023] Nails may be provided in the substrate for securing the substrate to a wooden floor. The nails are driven through the substrate in the same manner as the gripper pins, but from the second surface of the substrate to extend outwardly from the first surface. Preferably the projection component has mushroom type projections. Typically the projection density will be between 25 and 400 projections per cm². However it will be appreciated that the optimum type and density of projection component depends on the nature of the receptor felt or fibrous surface and that the best design will involve a compromise between grab or holding power on the one hand and the number of successful releases without receptor disintegration on the other.

[0024] In the embodiment shown, the combined thickness of the substrate, any adhesive and a base portion of the projection component touch and close material has substantially the same thickness as the underlay to be used.

[0025] A second aspect of the present invention provides a method for fitting a carpet with a fibrous backing to a floor, the method comprising the steps of: providing the carpet securement strip as described above and a carpet with a fibrous backing; affixing the carpet securement strip to a floor; laying the carpet onto the floor over the carpet securement strip; and pressing the carpet, and hence the fibrous backing, into engagement with the gripper pins and the projection component on the carpet securement strip. Preferably the carpet is fitted with an underlay as well, between the carpet and the floor.

[0026] The floor may be stair treads and risers. Two pieces of carpet securement strip are used per step of the stairs. The first piece is positioned on the step riser, adjacent its base and the second piece is positioned on the step tread, adjacent its back. The two pieces are arranged to leave a gap between them for accepting a tucked fold of carpet. Usually working from the top of the stairs, for each step in turn, the carpet is fitted as per the conventional method, i.e. stretching the carpet to fit and engage the carpet securement strips step by step, driving the fold into the gap between the two strips of each step. Since the carpet securement strip not only comprises the projection component but also gripper pins, the problem of the fibrous backing engaging the projection component of the touch and close system too early is prevented since the gripper pins keep the carpet backing away from engagement with the projections until the carpet is pressed into place by the fitter.

[0027] Although the present invention is particularly suitable for use on felt secondary backed carpets, i.e. carpets having backing having the fibres running substantially parallel to the floor, when fitted, it should be realised that it could be used equally well with a carpet having other sorts of fibrous backing. For example, a carpet having an underside with a woven or non-woven textile that incorporates loop stitching or some other provision which is either specifically designed to act as a receptor for touch and close systems, or simply an underside that is able to function in that manner could be used. The term “fibrous backing” should be understood to cover felt secondary backing or other backings providing a fibrous structure which acts as a receptor for projection component. The touch and close material density is chosen to allow multiple fixing and release of the tape to the backing. Also, since gripper pins are provided, the strips can be used not only with felt backed carpets, but also with ordinary backed carpets in the conventional manner. The carpet securement strips of the present invention are therefore universal for all carpet types, i.e. with or without felt backing and with or without underlay.

[0028] The present invention shall now be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

[0029]FIG. 1 shows in section a felt secondary backed carpet and underlay fitted with the carpet securement strip of the present invention;

[0030]FIG. 2 shows a piece of substrate with gripper pins and projection component;

[0031]FIG. 3 shows a piece of substrate with gripper pins and projection component for use as a door strip; and

[0032]FIGS. 4 and 5 are sectional views of the present invention being applied to stairs.

[0033] Referring now to FIGS. 1 and 2, a projection component in the form of a mushroom fastener 12 is adhered to a substrate 14 of wood, plastic or other suitable material, which is provided with fixing nails 16 for attaching the substrate 14 to the floor 22 and gripper pins 13. Alternatively, the substrate 14 may be adhered directly to the floor 22. For this purpose, one or more grooves may be provided in the floor facing surface of the substrate 14 to provide an efficient key for an adhesive. The gripper pins 13 are driven through the substrate 14 sufficiently deeply such that their heads are recessed into the substrate 14.

[0034] The substrate 14 is typically of between 5 and 0.5 m length, of between 10 mm and 100 mm in width and of between 2 and 12 mm in thickness. It is generally of simple trapezium cross section, i.e. with a chamfered edge 28. More preferably and conveniently the substrate 14 is approximately of 1.5 m length, of between 25 mm and 50 mm width depending upon application, and of 5 or 6 mm thickness. The chamfered face 28 is preferably inclined at an angle of approximately 70 degrees and arranged to form a raised lip 30 above the floor 22. The gripper pins 13 are also preferably arranged at an angle of about 70 degrees, as known in the prior art conventional gripper rods.

[0035] The mushroom fastener 12 is of a construction well known to those skilled in the art and is exemplified by products marketed by Selectus Ltd of Biidulph, Stoke-on-Trent, England or Alfatex Nev., Industrie Laan 16, B800 Dienze, Belgium. Other fastener materials are manufactured by Velcro Limited, Middlewich, CW10 0HS, England or Gottleib Binder GMBH, Holzerlingen, Germany. Additional materials are described in British Standard BS 7271:1990, but do not necessarily need to conform to it. It is of the same width and length as the substrate 14. The fastener 12 may have between 20 and 1000 mushrooms per cm² but preferably has between 40 and 400 depending upon application.

[0036] A less favourable variation is a fastener of the ‘hook’ type generally used in hook and loop fasteners.

[0037] Adherence of the fastener 12 to the substrate 14 may be achieved by using a fastener tape pre-coated with adhesive. The tape can be applied to the substrate 14 on site by the carpet fitter who will have previously nailed and/or glued the substrate 14 to the floor 22. However, preferably the fastener 12 is factory applied prior to driving the gripper pins 13 through the substrate. It is preferable to apply adhesive at the stage of lamination of the fastener 12 and the substrate 14 since this reduces cost and higher bond strengths can be achieved. Direct moulding, embossing or extrusion of the projection component is yet more preferable since adhesion considerations are overcome, and because two components of the composite are eliminated, namely adhesive and separate projection component tape, and since the application step is avoided, cost is very much lower.

[0038] Nails 16 are provided in the substrate 14 of a suitable type for the floor 22. In particular, 19 mm ring nails 16 are generally provided for wooden floors and 19 mm, 25 mm, or 32 mm Slivergrip Masonry nails are generally provided if the floor 22 is concrete. It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art, however, that other fixing methods may be used which would be more desirable according to the circumstances (e.g. glue to avoid water pipes/under floor heating).

[0039] Carpets with underlay 24 may be fitted using the present invention. The underlay may be of any type such as waffle sponge, latex foam, bonded polyurethane, tire crumb, or felt. The thickness of the underlay 24 may typically be from 2 mm to 12 mm, preferably approximately 8 mm, but should normally be substantially matched in thickness to the combined thickness of the substrate 14, the adhesive layer and the thickness of the base backing of the mushroom fastener 14 to give a professional finish to the fitted carpet. For example, an 8 mm sponge underlay 24 gives a good thickness match and a flat overall finish to a carpet 26 when used with 6 mm 5 ply plywood substrates 14, the difference being the depth of the adhesive and fastener 12.

[0040] When a carpet 26 is laid over the fastener 12, the mushrooms are pushed into the fibrous backing 18 of the carpet. Entanglement takes place and the carpet 26 becomes reversibly fixed to the substrate 14. The carpet 26 can then be tensioned across the floor 22 conventionally using knee kickers or power stretching techniques, after which the edge of the carpet 26 is fixed in the same manner to the substrate 14 at the other side of the floor 22. The mushrooms are sufficient for holding the carpet during the stretching. However, the gripper pins 13 provide a ratcheting effect if long enough to engage into the primary backing 15. The edges of the carpet 26 are usually trimmed and tucked into a gully 32 formed between the substrate 14 and a skirting board 20, in conventional manner, to finish the edges. The chamfered edge 28, of the substrate 14, and therefore the raised lip 30, enhances this gully 32.

[0041] Installation using the present invention obtains excellent underfoot comfort, a professional finish prolonged appearance retention, good carpet stability, and easy, rapid fitting.

[0042] A preferred embodiment of a carpet securement strip 10 that gives some additional advantages is shown in FIG. 2.

[0043] In order to lift the carpet 26, it was found to be necessary occasionally to use a tool such as a lever or a similar tool to obtain an initial loose edge for peeling back the carpet 26 against the securing force provided by the fastener 12. Moreover, since the peel forces are high a very high bond strength between the fastener 12 and the substrate 14 is necessary if peeling up of the fastener 12 along with the carpet 26 is to be avoided. A further difficulty is that during fitting it is necessary to trim the edge of the carpet 26 whilst the carpet 26 is secured against the fitting tension so that the edge can be correctly tucked into the gully 32. For this it is useful to be able easily to peel back the extreme edge of the carpet 26 without releasing the grip of the carpet 26 overall.

[0044] The embodiment of FIG. 2 achieves this by having two strips 34,36 of projection component 12 across its width each strip 34,36 having a different projection density, i.e. different spacings of the mushroom stalks 38 (or heat fused loops according to the method of manufacture). Clearly, three or more strips may be provided if necessary, or the projection density of the material could be graduated.

[0045] Across the first strip 34, the projection density, and hence the fierceness of the ‘grab’ into fibrous receptor material 18 of the backing of the carpet 26, is high relative to the projection density of the second strip 36. A preferred projection density is 80 projections per cm² in the case of felt backed carpets with mushroom fasteners. Advantageously, the projection density should fall within the range of 50 to 150 projections per cm². When the carpet 26 is offered up to the carpet securement strip 10, it is this first strip 34 that grips the carpet 26 allowing tension to be applied. Across the second strip 36, the density is less, typically 25 projections per cm² in the case of felt backed carpets with mushroom fasteners, so that that strip can hold the carpet 26 to a degree sufficient to hold it in place during normal use, but no more, so that it will readily release to give an easily gripped edge to facilitate peeling up when it is required to lift the carpet 26 for one reason or another. The two strips 34,36 across the width of the carpet securement strip 10 may thus be referred to as a gripping zone and a holding zone respectively. The carpet securement strip 10 is fitted to the floor 22 so that the holding zone the closer zone to the adjacent skirting board 20.

[0046] Preferably the gripping zone occupies between 50% and 75% of the width of the projection component 12. It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that a plurality of zones could be used, or a graduated projection density could be provided. Further, the effect can be achieved using more than one tape, each of different projection densities, placed side by side, as opposed to a single tape having the two projection densities provided thereon. Alternatively, different projection patterns may be used to achieve the different “grab” strengths since certain patterns “grab” more effectively than others.

[0047] This feature provides a valuable improvement in fitting in that the gripping zone secures the carpet 26 against the necessary fitting tension whilst allowing turn up of the narrow strip of carpet 26 immediately adjacent to the skirting board 20 for trimming.

[0048] It will also be realised that the overall grab of the mushrooms 38 to the fibrous backing 18 is reduced in the holding zone which reduces in turn the possibility of the substrate 14 to fastener 12 bond failing during “peel up” of the carpet 26.

[0049] In order for there to be no possibility of confusion during the installation as to which side of the carpet securement strip is the gripping zone, colour coding can be used by either using a striped base for the fastener 12 or alternatively using different colours for the mushrooms 38 in each zone.

[0050] Referring now to FIG. 3, there is a generally “I” section door strip 40. The door strip 40 has two feet portions 42 and two arm portions 44 connected by a body portion 46. The two feet portions 42 and arm portions 44 extend substantially perpendicularly away from the body portion 46, all the feet and arm portions 42, 44 being substantially parallel to each other. The two feet portions 42 are longer than the two arm portions 44. The feet portions 42, arm portions 44 and body portion 46 form two open channels on each side of the body portion 46 each for receiving a carpet edge. A strip of projection component 12 is fitted to the channel facing surfaces 48 of the feet portions 42, or may be formed as an integral part of the door strip. The gripper pins 13 may be driven through the feet portions 42 or may be stamped from the material of the feet portions.

[0051] For an edge strip, only the body portion and a single arm and foot portion are provided, the arm and foot portions extending in the same parallel direction away from the body portion to form a generally “C” section. Often a smoothly shaped section is provided so that an attractive edge can be provided to a carpet. The projection component is positioned similarly on the “C” section to that on the “I” section.

[0052] Referring now to FIGS. 4 and 5, a method for fitting a carpet 26 with a fibrous backing 18 to stairs will be described.

[0053] The method disclosed requires two carpet securement strips 10 and one piece of underlay to be provided per step 50 of the stairs. The carpet 26 for fitting to the stairs will preferably have been attached to the top of the stairs in conventional manner. In this way, the method of fitting requires the stairs to be fitted from the top.

[0054] For each step 50 of the stairs a piece of underlay is fitted to on the tread. Optionally, a piece of underlay can be fitted to the riser as well, but this increases the amount of underlay required without any benefit of improved underfoot comfort.

[0055] The two pieces of carpet securement strip 10 are also applied to the step 50, the first on the tread 56 and the second on the riser 58, both pieces adjacent the nape 60 of the step 50, with the underlay 24 only covering that part of the tread 56, and riser 58, extending from the pieces of carpet securement strip 10 away from the nape 60. The two pieces of carpet securement strip 10 are positioned sufficiently away from the nape 60 of the step so that a gap 62 is left between them of sufficient size to allow a fold of carpet 26 to be tucked between the two pieces of carpet securement strip 10, as would be conventionally done when using conventional grippers.

[0056] In order to fit the carpet 26 onto the step 50, working from the top of the stairs, for each step in turn, the fitter would stretch the carpet to fit the riser and engage the projection component and gripper pins on the first piece of carpet securement strip 10 fitted to the riser with the fibrous backing of the carpet. The fitter would then, whilst holding the carpet in its stretched position against the first carpet securement strip with the bolster 54, engage the projection component and gripper pins of the second piece of carpet securement strip with the fibrous backing of the carpet by pressing the carpet against the strip. The next step 50 could then be fitted. The bolster could be used to jam a fold of carpet in the gap 62 between the two pieces of carpet securement strip 10 in conventional manner before moving to the next step. This would additionally tension the carpet, thereby improving its appearance. The gripper pins therefore effectively “blind” the projection component to prevent early engagement of the carpet backing with the projection components until the carpet is physically pressed into engagement with the projection components by the fitter.

[0057] The present invention has been described above purely by way of example. It should be noted that modifications in detail may be made within the scope of the invention as defined in the claims. 

1. A carpet securement strip comprising an elongate substrate having a first planar surface for contact with the floor and a second planar surface substantially parallel to the first surface, which second surface carries gripper pins and a projection component of a touch and close system.
 2. A carpet securement strip according to claim 1, wherein the projection component is provided with strips of different projection densities extending along the length of the carpet securement strip.
 3. A carpet securement strip according to claim 2, wherein the projection density of the projection component is graduated across the width of the material.
 4. A carpet securement strip according to claim 2, wherein a first strip of the projection component has a projection density higher than a second strip.
 5. A carpet securement strip according to claim 4, wherein the first strip of the projection component extends over between 50 and 75% of the width of the material.
 6. A carpet securement strip according to claim 4, wherein the first strip of the projection component has a projection density of more than 80 projections per cm².
 7. A carpet securement strip according to claim 4, wherein the second strip of the projection component has a projection density of less than 70 projections per cm².
 8. A carpet securement strip according to claim 1, wherein the substrate has a generally rectangular cross section.
 9. A carpet securement strip according to claim 8, wherein a chamfered edge is provided on the substrate.
 10. A carpet securement strip according to claim 9, wherein the acute edge of the chamfer is rounded.
 11. A carpet according to claim 4, wherein the lowest density strip is adjacent the chamfered edge.
 12. A carpet securement strip according to claim 1, wherein the substrate has a generally “C” section, the foot portion of the “C” being longer than the arm portion, the “C” section defining an open channel for receiving a carpet edge, the gripper pins and the projection component being provided on the channel facing surface of the foot portion.
 13. A carpet securement strip according to claim 1, wherein the substrate has a generally “I” section, with the two feet portions being longer than the two arm portions, the “I” section defining two open channels each for receiving a carpet edge, the gripper pins and the projection component being provided on the channel facing surface of each of the foot portions.
 14. A carpet securement strip according to claim 1, wherein the projection component is integrally formed with the substrate.
 15. A carpet securement strip according to claim 1, wherein the projection component is laminated onto the substrate.
 16. A carpet securement strip according to claim 1, formed by extrusion, embossing or moulding of the projection component.
 17. A carpet securement strip according to claim 1, wherein the substrate is formed of a stiff material, such as metal, plastics, fibreglass, or composites thereof.
 18. A carpet securement strip according to claim 1, wherein the substrate has a substantially hollow section.
 19. A carpet securement strip according to claim 1, wherein the substrate is formed from wood.
 20. A carpet securement strip according to claim 1, wherein nails are provided in the substrate for securing the substrate to a floor.
 21. A carpet securement strip according to claim 1, wherein the substrate is provided with external grooves in the first planar surface.
 22. A carpet securement strip according to claim 1, wherein the projection component has mushroom type projections.
 23. A carpet securement strip according to claim 1, wherein the projection component has a projection density between 25 and 400 projections per cm².
 24. A carpet securement strip according to claim 1, wherein the combined thickness of the substrate, any adhesive and a base of the projection component has substantially the same thickness as the underlay to be used.
 25. A method for fitting a carpet with a fibrous backing to a floor, the method comprising the steps of: providing the carpet securement strip of any preceding claim, and a carpet with a fibrous backing; affixing the carpet securement strip to a floor; laying the carpet onto the floor over the carpet securement strip; and pressing the carpet, and hence the fibrous backing, into engagement with the gripper pins and the projection component on the carpet securement strip.
 26. The method of claim 25, wherein the carpet is fitted with underlay between the carpet and the floor.
 27. The method of claim 25, wherein the floor is stair treads and risers.
 28. The method of claim 27, wherein two pieces of carpet securement strip are used per step of the stairs. 